Tide - Book One: Discoveries
by Lolkat123
Summary: Old RiverClan tradition. A once well-kept secret, uncovered. Countless vanishing apprentices. It is tradition among RiverClan to visit the ocean before becoming a warrior, guided by one who is experienced with it. But when the death toll continues to rise, morals are questioned and a web of lies is uncovered. Does a simple tradition have the power to destroy the all the clans?
1. Chapter 1

**I **_**tried**_ **to resist, I really did. Okay. **

**I'm going to be doing a Pokemon collab with Spottedeyes :3. But other than that, there will be no more new stories until I finally finish some of them. *sweats nervously***

**I've been at the beach for a week, and when I was standing on the shore right where the waves would wash up over my feet, this idea came to me. At first I thought I'd put it up for adoption, but I kept getting more and more ideas and I couldn't think about my other stories.**

**I might change the title, not sure yet.**

**I'm just doing the RiverClan Allegiances for now, not sure if I'll end up doing the other clans or not.**

**FULL SUMMARY:**

**Among RiverClan, there is a well-kept tradition. Unknown to other clans, ever since the Great Journey brought them to new lands.**

**Apprentices travel with their mentors to the sun-drown place before they can become warriors. In this practice, both mentor and apprentice have always learned something new. It strengthens bonds and shows a life outside the clan. Just some harmless experience and fun, of course.**

**But a dark secret is hidden within this tradition, one that may destroy the clans for good. As this starts to get dug up, it slowly reveals a web of lies and danger that leaves everyone horrified.**

**A simple RiverClan tradition, with the power to bring destruction to all four clans.**

**You never know what lurks in the ocean.**

* * *

Allegiances

RIVERCLAN

LEADER: Mossystar- _dark tortoiseshell she-cat, blue eyes_

DEPUTY: Wrenfoot- _Black and white tom, green eyes_

MEDICINE CAT: Hollybloom- _black she-cat, amber eyes_

_APPRENTICE- Aspenpaw_

WARRIORS:

Flintclaw- _gray tom with darker paws, chest, muzzle, ears, and underbelly, blue eyes (Father of Fernkit, Spiderkit, and Splashkit. Cloudshadow's mate.)_

Hazelstep- _light brown she-cat, yellow eyes (Mother of Coalpaw and Aspenpaw. Duskfire's mate.)_

Duskfire- _black tom with russet paws and tail, bright amber eyes (Father of Coalpaw and Aspenpaw. Hazelstep's mate.)_

_APPRENTICE- Coalpaw_

Thrushsong- _mottled brown she-cat, dark blue eyes_

Duststorm- _sandy brown tabby tom, light blue eyes __(Father of Rosepaw, Sprigpaw, and Huskpaw. Cherrysnow's mate.)_

Lichenfall- _messy, long-furred gray tom with swampy brown eyes (Silverfire's mate.)_

_APPRENTICE- Rosepaw_

Cherrysnow- _thick-furred russet she-cat with white paws and tail-tip, blue eyes (Mother of Rosepaw, Sprigpaw, and Huskpaw. Duststorm's mate.)_

Hawkstrike- _broad-shouldered, dark brown tabby tom, amber eyes_

_APPRENTICE- Sprigpaw_

Silverfire- _silver tabby she-cat, amber eyes (Lichenfall's mate.)_

Fogstep- _long-furred dark gray tom, green eyes (Dawncloud's mate.)_

_APPRENTICE- Huskpaw_

APPRENTICES:

Huskpaw- _sandy brown tom, amber eyes_

Sprigpaw- _mottled brown she-cat, bright green eyes_

Rosepaw- _russet she-cat with a thick tail, blue eyes_

Coalpaw- _black tom with a long, kinked tail, dark green eyes_

Aspenpaw- _light brown tom, green eyes_

QUEENS:

Cloudshadow- _dark gray she-cat with white undercoat, chest, legs, and face, green eyes. Mother to Fernkit, a speckled gray she-cat with green eyes, Spiderkit, a dark gray tom with amber eyes, and Splashkit, a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with blue eyes. [Father is Flintclaw.]_

Dawncloud- _pale golden tabby she-cat with white paws, green eyes. Mother to Jaykit, a dark gray tom with green eyes, and Honeykit, a golden she-cat with blue eyes. [Father is Fogstep.]_

Ginger- _dark ginger she-cat with green eyes, former rogue. [Unknown father.]_

ELDERS:

Twigpelt- _dark brown tabby tom, blind in one eye_

Russetstorm- _thick-pelted russet she-cat, green eyes_

* * *

Death was an annoying thing.

Everyone was used to it, of course, but everything it struck it had the same outcome.

Suffering.

Or inconvenience. Depends how you look at it.

For you see, if you're a cat like Flintclaw, you have to force yourself to get used to it.

He had seen his fair share of death; in the times when apprentices under his protection to the ocean did not make it back, in the times such as this Leaf-bare when prey was scarce and warriors starved, and even in the times of his own kin, when two of his kits perished in the cold.

Death had hardened him. Each time it happened, he still felt shame. Each time brought more pain to his heart. But he kept that tight under lock-and-key, shutting his shame away until the next addition to the death toll came.

For the good of his clan.

Mossystar was talking quietly to the three apprentices, Huskpaw, Sprigpaw, and Rosepaw. Flintclaw could tell that she was speaking seriously, in the way that her tail-tip twitched and her blue eyes were ever-so-slightly narrowed.

The apprentices themselves seemed too excited to seriously be paying attention, their paws fidgeted and tails lashed.

Flintclaw sat a few fox-lengths away, eyeing the empty spot where the fresh-kill pile _should_ have been. Leaf-bare would be over soon. The snow was starting to melt slightly, and the lake only had a thin sheet of ice coating it that broke at the slightest touch.

Prey was still scarce, though, and everything caught went first to the queens and elders. The warriors then tried to share what they could, but more often then not the hunters wouldn't eat so that tomorrow's hunting patrol would have the strength to find more. Not that Flintclaw would complain, as his beloved mate Cloudshadow was nursing their kits in the nursery.

Poor, dear, Cloudshadow. This Leaf-bare had been the harshest of all, even the elders could not recall one as cruel as this. For cruel it had been. Two of his kits, Sweetkit and Snowkit, had died from greencough due to the cold and lack of herbs. Cloudshadow's eyes, once bright and gleaming with humor, were now dull with sorrow.

Hollybloom had been unable to save anyone who grew weak, much to her despair. Furzetail, Firestorm, Brightstream, Skytail, Duckpaw, and Mistpaw had all perished that season, leaving the clan brokenhearted. Skytail was Flintclaw's mother, and Firestorm had been his mentor. Not that he had any remorse for that tom.

_Firestorm. _Flintclaw dug his claws into the snow.

Before he could go off on a long, angry thought about the dead tom, the apprentices snapped him out of his thinking.

"Alright! Lets go! C'mon, Flintclaw!" Hawkpaw nudged his side, eyes gleaming in excitement.

Flintclaw rolled his eyes. "I've been ready, fish-brain. Go get your mentors and we can leave."

All of the apprentices let out a squeal as they raced away. The warrior let out a snort of amusement.

Within RiverClan, there was always one warrior who led the journey to the sun-drown place, or as it was known now as, the ocean. This cat trained an apprentice to follow in their paw-steps. They were of course, warriors like any other cat, but they had this responsibility as well.

When Flintclaw saw that the apprentices had collected Hawkstrike, Fogstep, and Lichenfall, he nodded silently to them and stood, padding away and flicking his tail for them to follow.

* * *

_Duststorm's POV_

_**Three days later...**_

The sandy brown tom blinked as Flintclaw headed into camp, slowly leading the group in.

Duststorm pricked his ears and let out a yowl. "Flintclaw is back!"

Instantly, cats were bursting from the dens in excitement to see the returning adventurers.

He hurried to meet them. Sprigpaw, Huskpaw, and Rosepaw were all his kits. He couldn't be more proud of them. They were all going to be amazing warriors, Huskpaw was proving to be an excellent fighter, Sprigpaw was a keen hunter, and Rosepaw had a way with words that could get anyone to listen to her. Often she would break up fights with a smile and a clever thing to say.

Duststorm froze.

Flintclaw's ears were flattened, Fogstep and Hawkstrike looked sullen, Lichenfall was staring at his paws, waves of grief rolling off of him, and Huskpaw and Sprigpaw looked broken.

"Flintclaw," Duststorm asked quietly. "Where is Rosepaw?"

"I think you know, Duststorm." Flintclaw didn't meet the tom's eyes, instead turning and heading toward Mossystar's den.

_No. No, no, no no nonono!_

His mate, Cherrysnow, let out a long wail of despair. Huskpaw and Sprigpaw rushed to their parents, burying their faces into their fur.

"I don't know what happened," whispered Sprigpaw. "Rosepaw was there. Then- then-"

"Shh," Duststorm murmured. "She was brave. We all loved her."

Cherrysnow exchanged a grief-stricken glance with Duststorm.

_Why, StarClan? Why her? Why anyone? Why do we do this when we lose a young life every time?"_

And in such a quiet whisper of a breeze, he swore he was imagining the reply.

_'For the good of the clan.'_

* * *

**This story will probably be fairly long, and will likely get updated fairly often. I hope.**

**I finally updated Ever's Rise :D!**

**I'm going to be working on the next chapter for Darkness Rising this week, hopefully I'll be able to get it up very soon.**

**Lolkat123 out~**


	2. Chapter 2

"Silence!" Mossystar yowled. "All of you, stop!"

The clan, which was gathered below her, all yowling and arguing, finally dropped down to low mutters and then, into frosty silence. "Thank you," she growled. The dark tortoiseshell's tail lashed, and she was silent for a moment. "Now, the issue at hand here is with the most recent death of Rosepaw."

"Its all Flintclaw's fault!" A pale brown warrior called Hazelstep yowled. "We always lose an apprentice, every _single _time because of him!"

Flintclaw turned to face her, snarling. "We always lose someone, regardless of _who_ is in charge. If I recall correctly, Firestorm once lost all _three _apprentices. Weren't they your kits, Hazelstep? But you didn't turn the entire clan against him!" His voice dripped with venom and malice. Hazelstep flinched away, her head low at the memory of her lost kits.

Mossystar let out a hiss. "That's enough, both of you. As Flintclaw says, we have always lost a young life, and we have always accepted that as one of the dangers of our tradition-"

"Then why do we do this?" Duststorm demanded, grief clear in his voice. "Why do we always travel to the ocean if we must lose our kin, every time? We waste our young lives, and at a time like this, when we have so few warriors, we cannot risk losing more!" He whirled upon Flintclaw. "When _your_ kits turn comes, will you still lead them there?"

Flintclaw voice lowered slightly. "They will make the journey like any other."

Despite Flintclaw's words, most cats murmured their agreement with Duststorm's declaration. Cherrysnow spoke up, ears flat, though her voice was soft. "Do you care not for what we feel? You were never a queen, Mossystar, you don't know the pain of losing a kit."

Flintclaw could've swore he saw some emotion flash in Mossystar's eyes, though it was gone in a heartbeat. Perhaps it was only a trick of the light.

Then, a queen called Ginger spoke. She was a rogue before joining RiverClan, and though many seemed hostile to her, she did not seem to want to leave, and would say that she would like for her kits to be raised as warriors. There were some cats, such as Cloudshadow and Dawncloud, the other queens, that were kind to her, though most distrusted her. Flintclaw personally had no hostility towards her, but hardly trusted the former rogue. _Though, I am not one to speak of distrusting others._

"I think it is a brave tradition. Rosepaw knew the dangers, but she went regardless, as did Huskpaw and Sprigpaw-" She nodded to the two apprentices- "-and she gave her life bravely. We should remember her as she was, a noble, good cat. We should not destroy this generations-old custom because of her death now. It would soil her memory." Ginger finished, shuffling her paws, uncomfortable under the gaze of all of RiverClan.

Flintclaw felt a new-found respect for the queen. _Perhaps she is not so bad after all._

"What Ginger says is true," Mossystar said quickly, as though not wanting to hear another argument. "And speaking of bravery, there is something I must do. Huskpaw, Sprigpaw, come forward."

The siblings, who had lowered heads and eyes dull with sorrow, started, then broke into huge smiles. Tails held high, grief forgotten, they padded closer. Mossystar smiled. "One of my favorite ceremonies, the promotion to a full warrior. I, Mossystar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Huskpaw, Sprigpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Sprigpaw mewed, eyes shining.

"I do!" Huskpaw said loudly, full of determination.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Huskpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Huskthorn. StarClan honors your courage and strength. Sprigpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Sprigleap. StarClan honors your loyalty and spirit. We welcome you as full warriors of the clan."

Even the clan was caught up in the excitement of new warriors. They yowled their congratulations to the stars, heads tipped back as they welcomed their new warriors. "Huskthorn! Sprigleap! Huskthorn! Sprigleap!" Duststorm's calls were the loudest of all.

"Tonight, you will hold vigil and watch over camp," Mossystar commanded, and the new warriors nodded, exchanging grins.

Flintclaw silently gazed around the camp, ears pricked, listening to snatches of conversation.

"I can't wait till you become a warrior," Aspenpaw was purring to his brother, Coalpaw. Aspenpaw was more energetic and outgoing, though he was a medicine cat apprentice, while Coalpaw was the opposite, more reserved and thoughtful.

Coalpaw let out a frustrated hiss. "You don't understand! We lose an apprentice _every time_. I'm the only warrior apprentice now, so do know what that means? _I _will die, Aspenpaw."

Aspenpaw looked startled, then his gaze turned solemn. "There has to be some other way," he murmured.

Flintclaw watched as Coalpaw's gaze hardened. "I'm going to find out what's going on," he hissed quietly.

"What do you mean?" Aspenpaw blinked.

"Doesn't it seem just a _little_ odd that _every _time one apprentice dies? Every time. You can ask the elders. They can't remember a _single_ time when a cat didn't go missing- because that's what it is. No one knows where they went, they were there, and then they weren't in the morning. Something's going on, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it before I die. Because at this point, there's no point in anything else if I know that I'll die." Coalpaw's eyes blazed with determination. The jet-black tom slowly turned his head to gaze levelly at Flintclaw. "And I don't trust Flintclaw or Mossystar," He said clearly, a bit louder.

_He wanted me to hear that. _Flintclaw felt a sense of panic. _He knows I overheard everything. Does he... does he expect me to murder him? Is that a warning to Aspenpaw that if he disappears, it was my fault? _Flintclaw felt cold. _No... no. I'm overthinking. There's no way he knows what's really going on. Its not possible. Only those who go missing would... and they're all dead._


	3. Chapter 3

**I actually really like where I'm going with this... I feel like this is one of my favorite stories that I've written, even though its only a couple chapters so far. I'm glad you all like it so far as well! I feel like I'm going to finish this story before my others... I just have so many ideas for it and I wanna write it so much.**

* * *

_Ginger's POV_

No, she did not really trust Flintclaw. Not that she was one to talk about trusting others, seeing as she was a former rogue and pretty much mistrusted by most of the clan.

But Ginger wasn't sure _why_ she had stood up for Flintclaw that night. Maybe it was because his mate, Cloudshadow, was so kind to her.

_Yeah, no._ Ginger turned in her nest. She could feel the squirming of kits in her belly. She _knew _that there was something... twisted about the tradition. She didn't know how she knew, but she just _did_. It was... like a sort of sixth-sense that Ginger had. She always had a feeling when something was wrong, but _every single time_ she didn't act upon it, which always got her into trouble. Ginger didn't want to believe that cats were evil, like with Twig...

_No. _No, Ginger would not allow herself to think of Twig.

Anyhow. Ginger simply knew there was something wrong with this tradition... and she had an uncomfortable feeling about Flintclaw, and there was something off about Mossystar... _It has to be nothing._

Its not like she was wrong about brushing these things off before...

More like every single time.

* * *

_Cloudshadow's POV_

"Now, I want my kits to look perfect for their ceremony!" Cloudshadow rasped her tongue over her son Spiderkit's dark gray face.

"Ew, Mama!" He protested, making a _bleh_ sound and pretending to gag. "Groom Splashkit or Fernkit!"

Cloudshadow purred in amusement. "Your sisters quietly let me groom them, silly. Now hush up so I can finish, then you can become apprentices!"

Splashkit bounced around excitedly, squealing. "Just let Cloudshadow groom you! Hurry, hurry!"

Fernkit, on the other hand, was solemn. She stared at her paws silently, and Cloudshadow quickly picked up on the fact that her daughter was not happy. Cloudshadow smiled slightly and looked down at her speckled gray kit. "What is the matter, Fernkit?"

Fernkit looked away, narrowing her eyes and flattening her ears. "You wouldn't understand."

The gray-and-white queen crouched down to eye-level with her kit. "Try me, dearest."

The speckled gray she-cat she-cat hesitated for a moment, then sounded as though she were in despair. "I... I don't want to be a warrior! I've always wanted to be a medicine cat, but Aspenpaw is Hollybloom's apprentice... so I can't! It isn't fair! There isn't anything else I want to be! I want to help my clan through healing, not fighting or hunting!"

Cloudshadow's eyes widened. _My poor, sweet kit... I had no idea. _"I'm sorry," Cloudshadow murmured, gently licking Fernkit's ear. "I can't do anything. Hollybloom can't take more than one apprentice..."

"I know that!" Fernkit exclaimed. "I talked to Mossystar, and she said she was sorry, but unless something happened to Aspenpaw I can't be a medicine cat!"

"I'm sorry, my sweet." Cloudshadow said quietly. "But please keep your chin up. Maybe you'll like training."

"Yeah!" Splashkit hopped over to Fernkit. "You get to train beside us! It will be sooooooo much fun!"

Fernkit hung her head sadly, eyes dull. "Yeah, I guess."

Cloudshadow sighed slightly. "It'll be better, dear, I promise. Now, its time." As if on cue, she could now hear Mossystar's yowl to join the clan together. Splashkit and Spiderkit let out cries of excitement,. while Fernkit sighed heavily and followed as they bounded out of the nursery. Cloudshadow let out a purr and padded after them. _My darling kits... If only Snowkit and Sweetkit were here as well... _The gray-and-white queen gazed up at the sky as they headed towards the gathering clan. _Are you watching, my kits? I hope you are happy in StarClan._

Hollybloom rushed to Cloudshadow's side. The two were siblings, though not littermates. Petalstorm, a queen who was now in StarClan, had been their mother, though Hollybloom had been in her first litter. Cloudshadow could tell that her sister was clearly distressed. "Cloudshadow, have you seen Aspenpaw?" Hollybloom fretted. "I haven't seen him since yesterday... I woke up at dawn and he was already gone... I thought that he had just gone out looking for herbs but its been far too long... he's never been gone this long..."

Cloudshadow shook her head. "No... no, I haven't. I saw him last night, talking to Mossystar, but that was it."

Hollybloom sighed. "Okay. Maybe I'm just over thinking. I'm sure he's fine..." The black medicine cat laughed good-naturedly, though Cloudshadow could tell her sister was forcing it. The gray-and-white queen laid her tail on her shoulder. "It'll be alright, I'm sure."

They padded on in silence, sitting beside Ginger as the clan continued to gather.

"How are things going?" Cloudshadow purred, inclining her head towards Ginger's kit-round belly.

The ginger queen purred as she replied, "They'll be here, any day now."

"I don't mean to pry..." Cloudshadow asked, almost hesitantly. "But will you be giving them clan names?"

"Of course," Ginger replied. "This is my life now, and I want them to be raised as warriors. And, of course, if I didn't, it would just give them another reason to be mistrusted."

The gray-and-white queen nodded, saying no more, and the two queens fell into a comfortable silence.

Mossystar gazed across the gathered clan, then spoke. "Hollybloom, where is your apprentice?" She asked, slowly.

The black she-cat answered nervously, "Er, I haven't seen him since last night... and neither has anyone else..."

Mossystar sighed dramatically. "Coalpaw, Dustfire, go find Aspenpaw."

The pair rose and swiftly padded out of camp, going after their kin. The clan fell into mutters and urgent whispers.

Ginger was clearly forcing her fur to lie flat. "Something is very wrong," she hissed under her breath, just loud enough that Cloudshadow was able to hear.

"What do you mean?" The gray-and-white queen asked, perplexed.

Ginger looked slightly startled, as though she hadn't meant to say that out loud. "I just... I have a very bad feeling about this."

Cloudshadow gave her an odd look but said nothing more.

A few minutes of the near-silence passed, until a very ruffled Coalpaw burst into camp, eyes wild. "Aspenpaw..." he panted. "Aspenpaw is dead!"

"What?!" Hazeltail screeched, pelt bushing up.

Mossystar looked mildly concerned. "Oh dear. Is Dustfire bringing him back?"

With a look of despair, Coalpaw nodded. Mossystar sighed, as though this whole ordeal was such an inconvenience. "Well, we must continue on with the ceremony at hand anyhow. Spiderkit, Splashkit, and Fernkit, come forward."

The three kits, now quite solemn, padded forward slowly. Mossystar continued. "Splashkit, Spiderkit, until you recieve your warrior names, you shall be known as Splashpaw and Spiderpaw. Spiderpaw, your mentor will be Silverfire, and Splashpaw, your mentor will be Thrushsong. I trust you will both pass on all you know to your apprentices. Now, Fernkit, seeing as Hollybloom is without an apprentice, it seems you can have your wish. You will train under Hollybloom as a medicine cat."

Appalled at both the incorrect words for the ceremony, the death of her apprentice, and her sudden new apprentice, a very stunned Hollybloom padded forward to touch noses with Fernpaw, who was just about ready to burst with excitement.

Though she knew she should be happy for her kit, Cloudshadow had a sinking feeling of dread. What was that Fernpaw had said to her?

_But unless something happens to Aspenpaw I can't be a medicine cat!_

Cloudshadow shuddered involuntarily.


	4. Chapter 4

**LavenderCrystalOfRoses- Thanks! And sure, I'll accept OC's! Also, if anyone wants to submit possible names for Ginger's kits, I might use those as well!**

**Storm-Eyes-Osprey- Thanks a lot!**

**Emma3084- Trust me, there's gonna be a lot of those ;D**

**Moonbeam141- Hmm… I wonder what really happened to poor Aspenpaw. Ginger sure knows whats up. The silly she-cat just has problems with actually acting upon it when she thinks something's wrong.**

**This is a **_**grossly **_**short chapter, I am so sorry. I am a trash child. This is low even for me.**

* * *

_Coalpaw's POV_

The loss of his brother left Coalpaw in a cold, frozen daze for the past five days. Nothing could heal the pain or melt the ice that kept his mind and heart frozen. Nothing but revenge.

_Flintclaw._ He was going to flay that tom to pieces. It had to have been him. He overheard Coalpaw telling Aspenpaw about his suspicious, and Flintclaw must've done it to keep him quiet.

There was no other possibility.

But there was the nagging question that whispered in the back of his mind. _Why?_

Why did Flintclaw _need _to keep him quiet? Just what was he hiding?

_It doesn't matter. That piece of fox-dung is going to _pay _for murdering my brother. _

"Coalpaw!"

The black tom blinked, and saw his mentor and father, Duskfire, growling at him. "For the third time, we're going hunting." The black-and-russet tom whirled around, stalking out the camp entrance. Duskfire was still grieving, like Coalpaw.

Kin did not usually mentor kin, but at the time of his apprenticeship, Fogstep and Silverfire had both been apprentices, and the only cats without apprentices other than Flintclaw were his parents, Duskfire and Hazelstep, and Mossystar had reasoned that a father would push him harder than a mother would.

Coalpaw sighed and padded after his father, ears flat against his head and tail lashing. He would much rather be practicing battle moves, so he could thoroughly _destroy _Flintclaw.

His inner voice then whispered again, _But what if it wasn't Flintclaw?_

No. It had to be.

* * *

_Flintclaw's POV_

"Mossystar, with all due respect, tell me what in the name of StarClan is going on here!" Flintclaw snarled, scraping his claws along the soft earth of Mossystar's den in frustration.

The mottled she-cat looked at him and blinked slowly. "What do you mean?"

"How is it that Aspenpaw was so conveniently killed when my kits became apprentices? What happened to him?" Flintclaw snarled, bristling.

Mossystar shrugged. "Coincidence, I suppose. I don't know why you of all cats is so upset about the death of an apprentice. And _do_ be careful where you toss around accusations. After all, it wouldn't be the first time you caused the death of an apprentice." Mossystar's lips twitched into the slightest of smiles.

Flintclaw let out a growl of anger. "You know very well that I didn't choose this path."

Mossystar's smile widened. "Oh, but didn't you? I recall you as a young kit, so eager to be the guide to the ocean."

"I did not know what lurked there!" He snarled, baring his fangs, tail lashing back and forth in rage.

"But it was your choice. Both I and Firestorm asked numerous times if you were sure, and told you there was no backing out. We both know what happened to Skytail, or dear deputy before Wrenfoot."

Flintclaw froze, a creeping feeling of dread rising in him. "What do you mean?"

Mossystar's grin only grew bigger. "Oh, I must've forgotten to tell you. I decided it was good time to tell her more about our little tradition, and, well, she didn't take it to well. Must've been something about how your sister, Petalpaw, died there. Truth sure hurts. But, she couldn't be deputy after that, now could she?"

"Wh-what? What did you do to her?" Flintclaw demanded, panicking.

Mossystar chuckled darkly. "Did you really think that graceful mother of yours fell in the river on her own? Hmm, I suppose the ice _did_ break under her paws, though, didn't it?" Flintclaw's eyes widened, and Mossystar flicked her tail, eyes gleaming. "You're dismissed. Oh, and _do_ ask Fernpaw how her training is going. I was _so_ hoping that the daughter of my favorite warrior would be able to become a medicine cat."

Flintclaw backed away, shaking. _This is worse than I ever thought it could be. Much, much worse…_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, all!**

**I've started a poll on which of my stories you want updated the most. You can make up to four choices, as that's a manageable about. This'll help me to prioritise with what you all, my fabulous readers, want most of all. Go vote!**

**TheJesusFreak- Yeah, sorry about the shortness of these chapters. As we progress into the story, they should get longer. I usually write between 2K and 2,900 words, but for some reason I keep making these too short ._.. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much, and you could be write, someone might've killed him. Is Coalpaw right, or is it someone else entirely?**

**Oh! And I'd also like to say that I have a Warriors writing challenges forum that could really use some members. It's pretty small now because no one posts in it, and there's only about three other people. Please check it out!**

* * *

_Fernpaw's POV_

She had an inkling of a feeling that Hollybloom resented her.

Of course, they were kin, and Hollybloom didn't treat her horribly, she was just cold.

And Fernpaw could hardly blame her.

_Why did Aspenpaw die? I don't understand... I told Mossystar I wanted to be a medicine cat and the next day he was gone..._

"Fernpaw, go check the elders for ticks." Hollybloom ordered, swinging a stick with a clump of mouse-bile on it towards her. Fernpaw pushed down the bile rising in her throat as the disgusting scent hit her senses, it was so strong she could almost _taste_ it.

"Yes, Hollybloom," she murmured, taking the stick and carrying out of her den, and across camp towards the elder's den. "Hello?" she muttered through her clenched teeth. "I'mf here to chck y-eh fer tcks."

"Oh, Fernpaw! Come in, dear," an old russet she-cat called Russetstorm rasped, breaking into a rusty purr. "Poor thing, mouse-bile sure smells. Come, I'll tell you a story while you look for ticks. There's a nasty little bugger right by my shoulder just out of reach." She turned her head towards the sleeping brown tabby further back in the den and called, "Twigpelt! Wake up!"

"Huh?" He mumbled, blinking drowsily. "Where's the fire?"

Russetstorm purred in amusement. "There's no fire, silly. Fernpaw here has come to check for ticks, and we're going to tell her a story in return. Which one, do you think?"

He muttered something inaudible and curled back up, snoring.

She rolled her eyes. "Hmm, lets see… have you heard the one about The Great Journey?"

Fernpaw purred she set down the stick. "Of course I have. And I heard the one about the battle between the Dark Forest and the Clans as well, many times."

"Crookedstar?"

"Check."

"Hmm…" Russetstorm pondered, thumping her tail on the ground. "Ah, I know."

As Fernpaw started to search for ticks through the elder's thick fur, Russetstorm asked, "Tell me, Fernpaw, have you ever heard of a wolf?"

Fernpaw paused, thinking. "I think I've heard of a cat named Wolfstar, but I don't know what a wolf is."

Russetstorm nodded. "Wolfstar is ShadowClan's leader. Now, a wolf… it is a very powerful creature. Much like a dog, but taller, slimmer, faster, stronger, and much more deadly. They live in packs, some small and some huge. I recall when I was a wee kit ShadowClan was attacked by starved wolves, and both RiverClan and ThunderClan came to help them in the battle. Many brave cats fell, eaten as they lay there, still living, by the hungered beasts."

Fernpaw shuddered at the thought of being eaten alive as she hooked a claw around a tick and cracked it between her teeth.

"Yes, chilling thought, isn't it? But there is more to wolves than brutality. They are wise, cunning creatures who are said to know the tongue of nearly every beast. Twigpelt swears up and down that when he fought in that battle the wolves snarled threats to the clans that they could understand." Russetstorm paused for a moment in thought. "I wonder where those wolves went off to…"

Twigpelt, suddenly completely awake, growled. "Them wolves went off away from the clans. But if you're quiet on the night of the full moon, you can still hear their howls in the distance."

Fernpaw cracked one last tick, a shiver going down her spine. Wolves sounded like dangerous creatures. "Have you ever seen a wolf, Russetstorm?"

The elder shook her head. "No, Twigpelt has, but I hear your father, Flintclaw, has seen their kind before."

_Really?_ Fernpaw blinked in surprise. "Huh. Thank you for the story."

Russetstrom smiled. "No trouble at all, dear. Thank you for getting rid of those ticks."

Fernpaw turned to see if Twigpelt wanted to be checked, but the ancient tom was snoring again. Russetstorm smiled softly. "That old rogue has seen kits grow up and die before him. He's lived well past his seasons, the old badger. Go on, Fernpaw. I can have someone else check him if he needs it when he wakes up."

Fernpaw nodded and hurried out of the den, carrying her mouse-bile with her. A yowl from the nursery startled her. Hollybloom hurried out of the medicine cat's den, then called urgently to Fernpaw, "Get over here! Ginger's kits are coming!"

Dropping the stick, she raced across camp to join her mentor. "Go get me some burnet, chervil, fennel, ragwort leaves, and borage. Oh, and a couple raspberry leaves. You know which all of those are, right?"

Thinking quickly, she replied, "Er- I know chervil, fennel, ragwort, and borage… what do burnet and raspberry look like?"

With a slight sigh, Hollybloom replied, "Burnet is long, with small, roundish leaves. It should help keep Ginger's strength up, because I don't know how strong she will be for this. Raspberry leaves are large, soft leaves with jagged edges. Got it?"

"Yes!" Fernpaw hurried into the den, searching for the herbs Hollybloom wanted. "Chervil and ragwort… there's the fennel… raspberry leaves, burnet, and… wait, where's the borage?" Panicking, Fernpaw went to where the borage was supposed to be, and found one measly stalk. "Hollybloom isn't going to like this…" She quickly wrapped the gathered leaves into a large dock leaf and carried the wrap towards the nursery.

As she entered, she could see Ginger laying on her side, breathing heavily and occasionally letting out a groan of pain. Cloudshadow, Hollybloom, and Dawncloud were crouched around here, Cloudshadow and Dawncloud comforting the queen. Hollybloom looked up as Fernpaw padded in, eyes wide at the sight of the labored queen. Cloudshadow smiled proudly at her daughter.

Fernpaw set down the bundle in front of Hollybloom, and hissed below her breath, "There isn't any borage."

"_What?!"_Hollybloom snarled. "No borage?!" With a hiss of frustation, she said, "Fine. Cloudshadow, do you know where it grows?" When the gray-and-white she-cat nodded, she continued, "Good. Go gather some, quickly- Dawncloud, keep your kits to their nest!"

Fernpaw purred as she saw Jaykit and Honeykit creeping towards them with wide eyes. They were three moons old, and the most curious little things you could find. Dawncloud hurried them back to her nest, which had been pushed aside to make more room for Ginger, and sat there with them to keep them out of the way. Murmuring gently, Hollybloom fed Ginger some of the herbs Fernpaw had brought.

For what seemed like ages, they sat there, encouraging and comforting the queen, who was clearly in a lot of pain. Then a shudder rippled along her side, and Hollybloom sat up, ears pricked. "Her contractions are starting. Fernpaw, get ready. When the kit comes, we bite the sac and lick its fur the wrong way to get it breathing."

Just then, Cloudshadow padded in, carrying a stick and a clump of borage in her jaws. She set both down, then batted the stick towards Ginger's jaws. "Bite on that. It'll help with the pain."

Ginger nodded and took the stick between her teeth, then as another contraction came, she crunched down on the wood, splintering it slightly as she let out a hiss of pain. The first kit slipped out, and Hollybloom bit down on the wet sac around it, and passed it to Fernpaw, who started licking its pelt quickly. The tiny squirmed as it was introduced to the world that was much colder than the dark, comfortable world inside it's mother. "A tom," Hollybloom purred. "Put it by Ginger. Dawncloud, come help."

A second kit, a she-cat, came, followed by another, and another. Hollybloom sighed. "I think that's- wait, no, there's still another one coming."

A fifth kit was born, another tom, and Hollybloom's eyes widened in surprise as Ginger was still having contractions. "_Six_ kits? Great StarClan!"

The sixth kit was born, and was again passed to Fernpaw, who licked it quickly, and it parted its jaws in an attempt to cry out. Purring, she placed it by Ginger's belly with its siblings. Hollybloom sighed in relief. "Great StarClan, you're finally finished. I thought you were going to kit an entire clan!"

Ginger let out an exhausted purr as she gazed upon her kits.

Fernpaw looked outside. It was already dark, the moon shining in the sky. _Wow. Time sure flew by in that excitement._

Hollybloom moved closer to Fernpaw. "You did well," she murmured kindly. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting."

Fernpaw nodded and purred. "Its okay. I'm glad I didn't disappoint you."

"What are you going to name them?" Dawncloud asked, smiling.

Ginger was quiet for a moment. "I'll name the silver tabby Cracklekit. Will you all name one, too? You all helped so much, its the only way I can thank you."

Cloudshadow purred and nodded, gently running a paw down a dark she-cat's back. "She looks just like you! How about Emberkit?" Ginger purred and nodded.

Dawncloud pointed at one of the two toms, another ginger tabby, but lighter than his sister. "Sandkit, I think."

"That's perfect," murmured Ginger.

"Hmm…" Hollybloom murmured, then gently touched the third she-cat, a pale brown she-cat. "Is it okay if I name her Aspenkit?"

"Of course," Ginger purred. "I understand. Fernpaw, your turn."

Fernpaw gazed at the two unnamed kits, a gray tom and a russet she-cat. "Can I name the gray tom Wolfkit?" she asked, thinking of Russetstorm's tale of the powerful, wise creatures.

Ginger nodded, then looked at the russet she-cat. "I'll call the last she-cat Vixenkit."

"Those are all great names," Hollybloom purred. "Six kits in this time of our few warriors… StarClan has surely blessed us." When Fernpaw broke into a sudden yawn, the black she-cat chuckled. "Go on, you can go to bed. It's been a long day for all of us.

"Goodbye, Ginger. Goodbye kits," Fernpaw murmured, then padded away, out of the nursery. _I can't believe I got to help with something so exciting so soon! And Hollybloom has accepted me… life is looking up._

* * *

_Six moons later._

Now that it was finally Greenleaf, life was blooming in RiverClan.

Coalpaw had not become a warrior yet, he had fallen out of a tree when training and broken his leg, though it had luckily mended cleanly and he was soon expected to become a warrior.

Spiderpaw and Splashpaw were just getting ready to make the journey to the ocean, and would be travelling with Coalpaw, Jaypaw, and Honeypaw. They were determined to break the record of always losing an apprentice.

Cracklekit, Emberkit, Vixenkit, Aspenkit, Wolfkit, and Sandkit had all been recently apprenticed, Sandpaw becoming Flintclaw's apprentice and would be trained not only as a warrior, but as the future guide to the ocean.

Mossystar had decided to fully accept Ginger into RiverClan, and gave her a warrior name on the same day that her kits became apprentices; calling her Gingerheart.

Fernpaw had proved to be an outstanding medicine cat, proving herself countless times to her mentor and the entirety of the clan. When Greencough had broken out, she had managed to locate a huge clump growing wild that Hollybloom had been unable to find, and with that, no one had died from the epidemic.

Even old Twigpelt was still alive and kicking. Life was looking up, that was for sure.

_Or was it?_

* * *

**Allegiances**

**RIVERCLAN**

**LEADER**: Mossystar- _dark tortoiseshell she-cat, blue eyes_

_**APPRENTICE-**_ _Vixenpaw_

**DEPUTY**: Wrenfoot- _Black and white tom, green eyes_

_**APPRENTICE-**_ _Jaypaw_

**MEDICINE CAT**: Hollybloom- _black she-cat, amber eyes_

_**APPRENTICE**__- Fernpaw_

**WARRIORS**:

Flintclaw- _gray tom with darker paws, chest, muzzle, ears, and underbelly, blue eyes (Father of Fernpaw, Spiderpaw, and Splashpaw. Cloudshadow's mate.)_

_**APPRENTICE**__- Sandpaw_

Hazelstep- _light brown she-cat, yellow eyes (Mother of Coalpaw. Duskfire's mate.)_

_**APPRENTICE**__- Honeypaw_

Cloudshadow- _dark gray she-cat with white undercoat, chest, legs, and face, green eyes. (Mate is Flintclaw.)_

_**APPRENTICE- **__Wolfpaw_

Duskfire- _black tom with russet paws and tail, bright amber eyes (Father of Coalpaw. Hazelstep's mate.)_

_**APPRENTICE**__- Coalpaw_

Thrushsong- _mottled brown she-cat, dark blue eyes_

_**APPRENTICE**__- Spiderpaw_

Duststorm- _sandy brown tabby tom, light blue eyes (Father of Sprigleap and Huskthorn. Cherrysnow's mate.)_

_**APPRENTICE-**_ _Splashpaw_

Dawncloud- _pale golden tabby she-cat with white paws, green eyes (Fogstep's mate.)_

Lichenfall- _messy, long-furred gray tom with swampy brown eyes (Silverfire's mate.)_

Cherrysnow- _thick-furred russet she-cat with white paws and tail-tip, blue eyes (Mother of Sprigleap and Huskthorn. Duststorm's mate.)_

_**APPRENTICE-**_ _Cracklepaw_

Hawkstrike- _broad-shouldered, dark brown tabby tom, amber eyes (Sprigleap's mate.)_

Silverfire- _silver tabby she-cat, amber eyes (Lichenfall's mate.)_

_**APPRENTICE**__- Emberpaw_

Fogstep- _long-furred dark gray tom, green eyes (Dawncloud's mate.)_

Huskthorn- _sandy brown tom, amber eyes_

Gingerheart- _dark ginger she-cat with green eyes, former rogue_

**APPRENTICES**:

Coalpaw- _black tom with a long, kinked tail, dark green eyes_

Jaypaw- _dark gray tom with green eyes_

Honeypaw- _golden she-cat with blue eyes_

Splashpaw- _tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with blue eyes_

Spiderpaw- _dark gray tom with amber eyes_

Fernpaw- _speckled gray she-cat with green eyes_

Cracklepaw- _silver tabby she-cat with spiky fur and blue eyes_

Emberpaw- _dark ginger tabby she-cat with green eyes_

Sandpaw- _pale ginger tabby tom with green eyes_

Aspenpaw- _pale, sandy-brown tom with green eyes_

Wolfpaw- _large, dark gray tabby tom with a long, thick pelt and blue eyes_

Vixenpaw- _russet she-cat with green eyes_

**QUEENS:**

Sprigleap- _mottled brown she-cat, bright green eyes [Expecting Hawkstrike's kits.] _

**ELDERS:**

Twigpelt- _dark brown tabby tom, blind in one eye_

Russetstorm- _thick-pelted russet she-cat, green eyes_

* * *

**Gosh, RiverClan sure is full of apprentices, huh? Well, I guess they **_**did**_ **really need some more warriors, they were running short at the beginning of this story, right?**

**So I suppose all of these chapters before were more of a prelude, because the **_**real**_ **story begins now.**

**Stay tuned ;D. We'll be learning more about the ocean very soon.**

**Lolkat123 out~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright, and here we are with chapter six!**

**I realized I made a mistake, the newer Aspenpaw was supposed to be a she-cat, not a tom, which is what I listed her as in the updated Allegiances.**

**Hopefully this chapter will please those of you who have been wishing for longer chapters! This one ended up being nearly 4K words.**

**Sagan Catherine Liddel- That you for all the reviews! I do appreciate the advice, and I get what you mean about the implied POV. As to answer a couple of the questions you have, no, the other clans are not aware of RiverClan's tradition, and at least for this story, they don't have any related traditions, though it would be interesting. I could see WindClan taking up the tradition in the tunnels that the Ancients had, and I'm sure theres a number of possibilities for ThunderClan and ShadowClan. We will be seeing more of the other clans later in the story, but for now, I believe it will just be just RiverClan. In the last chapter, I started writing in a WindClan cat's POV who found Aspenpaw's body, but I thought it would be giving away too much too soon. Which I guess isn't a valid reason as this chapter will be revealing a lot. Whoops.**

**On to the story!**

* * *

A young, pale ginger tabby tom fidgeted in anticipation. _Where's Flintclaw? I'm ready to go! Right now! Let's do it!_ He had to contain his excitement to keep himself from hopping up and running in circles. This was an exciting day.

An older, black tom with a kinked tail padded towards him. "Hello, Sandpaw. Is Flintclaw taking you with as well?"

"Yes!" Sandpaw squeaked in excitement. "I can't wait!"

Coalpaw sniffed. "It's not as great as its all cracked up to be. One of us is going to die, and seeing as Splashpaw and Spiderpaw are his kits, and you're his apprentice, it's probably going to be me."

Sandpaw blinked, confused. "What do you mean? I don't know why any of us would die."

Coalpaw narrowed his eyes. "I suppose Flintclaw didn't tell you, then, that every time RiverClan has traveled to the ocean, we always lose an apprentice. Sometimes more than one. But I guess Flintclaw is better than Firestorm ever was, he's always kept it to one death per group. Nice of him, isn't it?"

Sandpaw shook his head. "That's crazy. There's no way that _every_ time someone dies."

"You'll see," the black tom growled ominiously, sitting back on his haunches beside the younger tom. "Wait until its your own kin travelling."

Sandpaw tilted his head slightly. "Did you lose someone there?"

The older apprentice laughed dryly. "Not there. But I voiced my suspicions about the tradition to my brother, Aspenpaw, who was a medicine cat apprentice. Few days later, me and Duskfire found him slaughtered like prey, throat ripped open by none other than another cat. Of course it was said to be some accident, a fox or badger, even though there had been no trace of either. I've been smarter not to tell anyone about how I really feel about it since then…"

"Aspenpaw? Your brother was named Aspenpaw, too?" Sandpaw asked, more interested in that than some silly suspicion of murder. RiverClan was full of noble cats! No one would murder here!

"Yes, Gingerheart allowed the cats who helped her through your kitting to name one of you each. Hollybloom named your sister in his honor."

"Who named me?" Sandpaw inquired, flicking his tail in curiousity.

"Er…" Coalpaw muttered. "Not sure. I just know that Hollybloom named your sister Aspenpaw."

"Oh, alright." The easy-going ginger tom purred.

"Sandpaw, Coalpaw, come on," came a growl as Flintclaw, Sandpaw's mentor, trudged toward him. "Its time to go."

"Finally!" Sandpaw jumped up, resulting in amused purrs from Splashpaw, a pretty tortoiseshell, and Spiderpaw, who was a dark gray tom quite like his father. He ducked his head in embarrassment as Flintclaw cuffed his ears gently. "This isn't a game, Sandpaw," he rumbled. "This is going to be a long, tough three days. It'll take a day to get there, we'll spend a day there, then spend the third day coming back. Depending on how fast or slow we are, we might have to nest before we reach the ocean."

Eyes widening, Sandpaw nodded. Flintclaw lowered his voice slightly. "And know that by making this journey, you no longer have a way to back out of being the future guide. Understood?"

"Of course!"

Flintclaw straightened himself. "Then lets get going."

As the apprentices quickly gathered their mentors, they began to exit, each cat falling in line beside his or her mentor, Sandpaw and Flintclaw leading the way. Flintclaw smiled a little and remarked to his apprentice, "Now you'll see why I've been training you solely on swimming for the past few days."

"Why?" Sandpaw asked instantly.

"You know the stream that runs from the lake away from the clans? Well, by swimming downstream through that it'll take us straight to the ocean. Of course, we'll take breaks frequently, but since the waters are warmer in Greenleaf, this trip might be faster than the last one. Last time I took Sprigleap and Huskthorn, and the river was frozen over. That trip was exhausting."

Sandpaw purred in amusement. "That must've been tough."

Flintclaw nodded. "It sure was."

They padded on through the soft, dewy grasses, the patrol at ease and joking around happily. All except Coalpaw, who was solemn as usual.

Within just a few minutes, they came to the stream, where the waters were calm and shallow. Flintclaw raised his voice. "The water is nice now, but the current will get stronger and the river will broaden and deepen. Be prepared. Everyone in! Stay by your mentors and don't be afraid to yowl if you need a break.

The cats splashed in, and Splashpaw flicked a stream of droplets at her father with her wet tail, snickering as the hit his face. Flintclaw laughed and used his paw to send a cascade of water at the tortoiseshell she-cat, and she squealed in protest.

Chuckling, Sandpaw turned his back to the river, then frowned as he saw the twoleg thunderpath that went over the river. "Are we going to have to go through that?"

Flintclaw nodded. "That's called a bridge, but there's a tunnel to let the river go through. We'll just swim under it. No big deal. It can be scary at first, but you'll get used to it."

Sandpaw nodded, narrowing his eyes in determination. _I wanted this path… so I have to be brave! I'll be the bravest warrior ever!_

The water went up to Sandpaw's chest, as he was still young and shorter than the older cats around him, and was swimming before the others. The current picked up, and the river deepened, and soon enough they were all swimming down the river, smoothly skimming down the clear, cool river.

The bridge was coming up quickly, and Sandpaw took a breath, forcing down any fear he had. _Its just a dirt tunnel…. just a dirt tunnel…. just a tunnel…_

Then a monster raced across overhead, sending an echoing roar through the tunnel. Sandpaw let out a startled yowl, as did Splashpaw, but Flintclaw didn't even flinch. _Wow. Nothing rattles him, huh?_

Again the current picked up, and they were traveling at a faster speed than Sandpaw had ever gone in his life. The wind rushing over him and the pure adrenaline was simply exhilarating.

Flintclaw let out another yowl. "It'll be easiest if you just tread water and let the river do the rest. You'll save your energy that way."

Sandpaw slowed his strokes, yet still sped down the river at nearly the same speed. Spiderpaw shot by him, still stroking as fast as possible. "No, Spiderpaw, slow down!" his mentor, Thrushsong, cried, though the speckled tom continued on his lightning-quick course.

Sandpaw saw why Thrushsong had warned him. There was a long log, nearly broken in half, with jagged bits splintering out that was trapped between two stones, causing rapids in the current. And Spiderpaw was hurtling towards it, much too quickly. The gray tom screeched as he realized the object was in his path. Spiderpaw churned his legs frantically, but to no avail. All it did was turn him so that his side was facing the log, and in a flash, he shot right into the splintering mess.

A screech of pain came from the apprentice, and the patrol panicked. "Hold on!" Flintfang called. "Get on either side of him, we need to pull him out of the river!"

But before anyone could get close enough, the breaking log detached itself from the rocks, having split in half from the force of Spiderpaw's collision, carrying him with it. The halves of the log crashed into each other a number of times, causing them to spin over, making the limp form of Spiderpaw to slip off and underwater.

"No!" Flintclaw howled, picking up speed as he swam desperately after his son. Sandpaw, eyes wide with fear, pushed himself faster. _I have to help him save Spiderpaw!_

But it seemed his help was not needed. Flintclaw had somehow caught up to the younger tom, and grasped his scruff firmly in his jaws, swimming strongly towards the shore. Hauling both himself and his son out of the river, he yowled, "Everyone out! Now! Spiderpaw's hurt badly!"

With another rush of fear, Spiderpaw turned himself towards the riverbank, recalling how Flintclaw had taught him that like otters, his tail could help him steer himself in the right direction. As he slid out of the river, water smoothly ran down from his sleek pelt. '_The fish we eat keeps our pelt sleek, oily, almost. It helps the water run off and we dry quicker than the other clans,'_ is what Flintclaw had told him when Sandpaw asked why RiverClan primarily ate fish. _That, and it tastes wonderful._

The group all exited the river and crowded around the injured apprentice. Sandpaw sucked in his breath sharply as he saw the damage.

Spiderpaw's eyes were closed, his sides ripped open horrendously by the jagged wood, some bits actually stuck in him, blood trickling out from where the splinters had impaled him. Fur was ripped away where the gashes were, the pelt around each wound stained scarlet.

Flintclaw's eyes were widened in terror, and he stuttered. "I-I d-don't… know… wh...what do we do?"

Duststorm, who mentored Splashpaw, pushed his way forward. "We need to get the wood pieces out of him, now. Splashpaw, Coalpaw, go find some cobwebs. Lots of them. Now." Nodding, the senior apprentices raced off. "Thrushsong, start pulling out the bits. Carefully- we don't want to hurt him too much."

Flintclaw just stared at his broken son as though in a trance.

Thrushsong did as ordered, gingerly biting on one jagged bit of wood and pulling it out. The moment she did, Spiderpaw's eyes flew open and he let out a blood-curling scream of pure pain, the only kind you feel when you are at death's door and yet cannot die.

Thrushsong's eyes deepened with pain, but she continued, pulling each bit out of his flesh as he cried out madly. But when she came to last, longest wood shard, she stopped, eyes glistening. "It's too deep," she breathed. "If I pull it out, he'll die now. Its… it probably has ran him completely through."

Sandpaw felt a slow realization wash over him. _Coalpaw was right… someone dies every time… but why? Why did it have to be Spiderpaw?_

Flintclaw sat hard on his haunches. "No! Spiderpaw, hold on, Thrushsong will pull it out and you'll be okay!"

Spiderpaw's eyes were wild, almost manic. "P-p-please… just… d...o it… hurt… so much…"

"You heard him!" Flintclaw called, voice panicky. "You heard Spiderpaw! Do it! Hurry!"

Thrushsong shook her head sadly. "No, I'm sorry, it'll just kill him-"

"Then I'll do it!" The apprentice's father practically yowled, then gripped the shard, pulling it out in one quick jerk. The wood dripped with Spiderpaw's blood, and the gray tom's body convusled, then he choked out blood.

Spiderpaw went still, eyes clouding over.

"_No_!" Flintclaw threw back his head, screeching his torments to the sky. "Why, StarClan?! _Why?! _Why did you make me follow this path? _Why?!"_

"Didn't you choose it…?" Sandpaw asked, his voice small and quiet as a mouse.

Flintclaw laughed harshly. "That's right… that's… right… all my fault… all mine… my choice… my burden…" then he turned on Sandpaw, hissing. "And someday soon, it will be _yours._"

Duststorm cuffed Flintclaw over the ears roughly. "Pull yourself together!" he snarled harshly. "Now _you_ know the agony of losing a kit."

"I already do!" Flintclaw hissed, unsheathing his claws and tearing up the grass beneath his paws. "Two of my kits died in Leaf-bare before they even had a chance at life! Rosepaw had a chance, but she didn't make it!"

Thrushsong pushed her way between the two warriors. "Come on, we should bury him now."

Coalpaw and Splashpaw were just returning, jaws full of cobwebs. They dropped them when they saw his limp body. Splashpaw ran to her brother's side. "No! Spiderpaw, wake up, please!"

"He's gone," Flintclaw choked out. "All we have now is Cloudshadow and Fernpaw."

Splashpaw sobbed for a moment, burying her muzzle in Spiderpaw's shoulder. "Goodbye, brother."

The burial was a quick thing, they had no lavender or mint to bury with him, but they said a few words to StarClan and asked that they accept their lost apprentice. Then, much more solemnly, Flintclaw ordered for them to go.

"I'm heading back to camp," Thrushsong murmured. "We aren't too far, and there's no reason for me to carry on without Spiderpaw. I-I'll make sure to tell Cloudshadow."

While Flintclaw normally would have argued, he instead dipped his head, and flicked his tail for the rest of them to follow him into the water.

* * *

The day had been long, but as the river again picked up speed, Flintclaw told them all they were close now. If Sandpaw stared out into the horizon, he could no longer see a tree line. It was as though the sky was the rest of the world.

"Smell that?" Flintclaw called. "That's the ocean. The water is salty, and so much so that you can smell it back here. The waves can be treacherous, so we have to get out before the current brings us in."

Within a few moments, Sandpaw's eyes widened in awe as he laid eyes upon it.

The ocean.

It was so huge that it made the lake seem like a puddle in comparison. It stretched so far that Sandpaw couldn't even see where it ended, and was so wide he couldn't see either end.

"Sandpaw!" A frantic call jolted him. "Get out!"

Sandpaw blinked, realizing he must have been zoning out when Flintclaw ordered the others out, and was now hurtling towards the huge expanse of water. Yowling, he tried to swim towards the shore, but to no avail. Flintclaw and the rest of the patrol raced after him on the shore, where dirt had become sand.

And then, in one sudden move, he shot into the water, and a wave engulfed him, turning the world dark.

In his panic, Sandpaw swallowed a bit of water. As Flintclaw said, it was extremely salty and burned his throat even worse than lake or river water. _StarClan, help me!_

He churned his legs, but a strong pull kept him down. _I can't die like this!_

Then a blurred shape dove down, snatching him by the scruff and hauling him up and pulling his face out of the water and into the open. Sandpaw sucked in as much of the precious air as he could as Flintclaw, his rescuer, swam back to shore. A wave again came up towards them, but rather than break over them, it rose up beneath them and carried them closer to shore.

When Flintclaw could stand, he dragged Sandpaw out and across the sand. The ginger tom's legs were numb from the chilly water, and the whole ordeal had been so exhausting that he couldn't even stand.

After his mentor had pulled him to the dry sand, and set him down, he broke into a tirade. "Sandpaw, you idiot! You could have died right there! When I order something, you do it _immediately!_"

Sandpaw coughed out a bit of the salty water before replying. "I... I'm sorry... I just- I didn't hear you."

Flintclaw sat down, flattening his ears. "Well, listen up next time. You scared us."

Splashpaw and Coalpaw both padded up to him and helped him stand, shakily, and led him to where the others were. Duststorm and Duskfire were digging wide holes on the sand for the patrol to nest in, as the sun was now setting.

"While they make our nests, I'll take you hunting. Ever try catching a seagull?" At their confused looks, Flintclaw smiled. "Well, I'll show you how. Sandpaw, are you up for it?"

Determined to prove himself to Flintclaw, Sandpaw nodded despite how tired he was. "Yes! Of course!"

"Then follow me. See those white birds that way? Those are seagulls, and they're tough. We have to find one on its own, then surround it. Coalpaw, you're going to look for something shiny, preferably some two leg scrap. They wash up all over the beach. Seagulls love shiny things, and we're going to distract it with it." As Coalpaw ran off to locate something useful, Flintclaw continued. "I will be holding the object so that the sunlight reflects off it, which will catch the seagull's attention. While its distracted, you two, along with Coalpaw, will sneak up behind it. When you get close enough to pounce, do it. One of you needs to go for it's wings- try to injure them enough so it can't fly away, while the others go in for the kill. Be warned- seagulls can be vicious, and will go for your eyes with those deadly beaks. Twigpelt lost sight in one of his eyes trying to hunt one of those birds."

When Coalpaw returned, carrying a large piece of some odd clear, sharp thing, Flintclaw quickly explained the last part of his lecture to the black tom.

Silently treading across the sand, they followed the large flock of seagulls until Splashpaw spotted one that was treading a ways away from the rest of the group. Flintclaw flicked his tail towards it, holding the sharp clear thing in his jaws. Sandpaw, Coalpaw, and Splashpaw all nodded and stalked around it until they were to its back. Sandpaw narrowed his eyes as he saw a glint shine off the scrap, and the seagull let out a curious squawk and slowly began to tread closer towards Flintclaw, who was crouched in a small dip in the sand.

"Now!" Coalpaw hissed, and they all sprinted furiously towards the bird, Splashpaw leaping first and landing square on it's back. The bird squawked anxiously and flapped around as Coalpaw and Sandpaw hurled themselves at it. "I'll go for the wings-" Coalpaw called. "Sandpaw, try and pull its legs out from under it!"

As Coalpaw dodged a sweep of the seagull's wing, Sandpaw dove for its webbed feet, sinking his teeth into a leg. The seagull's upset squawks turned into a furious shriek, and it stabbed down viciously with it's yellow beak. Thinking quickly, the ginger tom scooped sand with his paw and in one fluid motion sent it at the bird's dark eyes. It cried again, shaking its head around as it tried to clear it's vision.

Again Sandpaw crunched down on the seagull's leg, and he jerked his head back forcefully, toppling the seagull over with yet another squawk of anger. While Splashpaw held it down, Coalpaw went for the throat and killed it with a powerful bite.

All three apprentices cheered at their victory. For Sandpaw, this was a war he had won.

Flintclaw padded up, condratulating them, but again seemed quite solemn. _He probably wishes Spiderpaw was here to hunt it as well... Poor Flintclaw._

The apprentices carried their fresh-kill back to camp, eyes all gleaming proudly at their catch. When Duststorm and Duskfire laid eyes upon their kill, they thouroughly congratulated their apprentices.

"You should've seen Sandpaw pull it off its feet!" Coalpaw praised, grinning. "That was the most exciting hunt I've ever had."

Duskfire purred proudly. "I'm sure we'll be able to catch more tomorrow."

As they all tucked in, seagulls began to come closer, watching cautiously. Sandpaw blinked, and worriedly asked his mentor, "Uh, Flintclaw? Are they going to attack us?"

Flintclaw shook his head. "No, they just want some of our meal. We'll leave a bit of meat of the bones for them to pick at so they leave us alone."

Splashpaw looked horrified. "You mean they eat their own kind?"

Flintclaw shrugged indifferently. "They're scavengers. They eat anything."

Splashpaw still looked utterly disgusted, and Sandpaw couldn't help but feel the same. Imagine if they ate cats!

The patrol finished up the meal, and Duskfire dragged the rest of the carcass a good distance away, and as soon as he ran back to them, the seagulls were upon it, pecking and squawking at one another as they each tried to get a bite.

Coalpaw watched them for a moment disdainfully. "They may be a group, but they certainly don't work together."

Flintclaw nodded. "Yes, they aren't very clever, and certainly aren't kind."

As the sun started to sink into the ocean, Sandpaw's eyes widened in amazement. "How is the sun going to come back out of the water?"

Flintclaw sat, smiling slightly. "That is why this was first called the Sun-drown Place; the sun always seems to drown in the expanse of water. However, as this tradition was made and carried out, we learned more about it from rogues and loners who lived here. In fact, there is a family of rogues who have lived here for generations, and they are always quite friendly. We'll be meeting them tomorrow. I expect that Pine will have had her kits by now, she was expecting the last time we were here. Now, lets get some shut-eye." The dark gray tom settled down in his sandy hole, and the others followed suit.

Sandpaw closed his eyes, and let sleep overtake him.

* * *

A sharp prod woke Sandpaw up, and a tail covered his jaws to prevent him from crying out in surprise. Flintclaw was standing above him, and it was still the middle of the night. As Sandpaw opened his jaws to question why in StarClan's name Flintclaw was waking him up at this hour, his mentor shook his head, beckoning with his tail to follow. Confused, the ginger tom rose and padded after his mentor.

They traveled down the beach, and when they were a great distance from the sleeping patrol, Flintclaw hissed. "You're going to learn something important tonight, Sandpaw."

Sandpaw's ears pricked, and despite wanting to curl back up and sleep, he curiously asked, "What? What is it?"

"The truth about our old tradition."


	7. Chapter 7

**Sagan Catherine Liddel- No problem :D! I always try to answer my reviewers. Heh, there's probably gonna be a lot of cliffies in this story ;D.**

**Agh, sorry about that. I think that and not being descriptive enough of scenery and such are my two main problems as a writer. Hmm, I don't think I'll be writing about WindClan having a tradition for this story, but maybe in a future one…**

**narusasura- Thank you :D!**

**Moonbeam: *excitable bat screeching noises* I'M SO EXCITED! I can't remember if I pre-ordered it or not… I really hope I did.**

**So, I've got a whole sequel planned out for this story! I'm honestly a lot more excited about the sequel than this story, as I came up with some plots that I really liked and I believe will make the story much more interesting. That, and we'll be seeing POV's from all clans! So now I've gotta work on this story a lot just to get to that point.**

**This chapter wasn't really as long as I wanted it to be... But, oh well. I don't know why, but I had a hard time finishing it. I think after the next chapter or so I'll have all my thoughts and plans in order and updates will hopefully be more regular.**

**On with the chapter!**

* * *

"Huh?" Sandpaw was startled. "What do you mean, the truth about our tradition?"

Flintclaw let out a small growl. "That's right, Sandpaw. You've got a lot to learn, and now you're duty-bound it it and you can't back out. Understood?"

"Y-yes, Flintclaw," the young ginger tom stammered out. "But… I don't get what you mean."

"You will… soon." Flintclaw stared ahead as the pair proceeded down the coastline at a quick pace. The moon shone bright overhead, casting a glow over the ocean that illuminated the water beautifully.

"Where are we going?" Sandpaw finally asked after a few long minutes of silence.

"You'll see."

Sandpaw wanted to yowl in frustration. _Come on, you stubborn badger! Just tell me already!_

However, Flintclaw remained silent for the remainder of their monotonous trek down the beach.

After what seemed like ages had passed, Flintclaw flicked his tail towards the cliffs that ran alongside them, facing the ocean. "We'll be climbing up those, there's a path this way."

Still perplexed, Sandpaw followed as Flintclaw led him towards the towering cliffside. As they grew closer to the rocky terrain, he saw that there was a path of sorts, though it was rocky and steep. "You go in front of me, and I'll be right behind you," Flintclaw growled. "When we reach a ledge with a cave, that's where we stop."

Sandpaw nodded. "Okay." The pale ginger apprentice padded ahead, slowly and carefully placing each pawstep. They slowly proceeded up the cliffside, Sandpaw inhaling sharply whenever he heard the pebbles fall off the path and to the beach far below as they walked. He shuddered as he imagined falling off. Your body would just smash to the ground... that's a horrible way to die.

Eventually, they reached a wide ledge where they could both easily stand. At this point, the water was crashing against the side of the cliffs, no sand to be seen. Sandpaw tore his gaze away from the sea to face Flintclaw. "Okay, so why-"

In a single instant, he heard a snarl, then felt a powerful yank as something snatched him by the scruff and hauled him off his paws. Sandpaw let out a screech as he tried to flail about. The stench of the unknown beast's breath was enough to make bile rise in his throat. No! Let go of me!

Then he heard Flintclaw yowl, "No, wait! That's my apprentice! Don't kill him!"

After a long moment, the beast dropped him. "My... apologies." It rumbled. "I did not know."

Trembling, the ginger tom turned around to face his attacker.

The beast was huge. It was more than four times taller than him, standing on slim legs with wide clawed paws. It was some sort of canine, with sharp, perked ears and a long, skinny muzzle. It's keen yellow eyes stared down at him with an uncanny air of intelligence.

"Wh-wh-what is that?" Sandpaw gasped, shaking with fear.

"He," Flintclaw said calmly, "Is a wolf."

The wolf's head swung around when there was a clatter of pebbles. He snarled something in his own tongue, and two more wolves appeared from the cavern and were upon the disturbance in an instance. One dark gray canine turned around, and in his jaws was a spitting, yowling Coalpaw.

"Let me go!" He howled. "Let me go, you traitor! You piece of fox-dung, Flintclaw! This is where all the missing apprentices go, isn't it?! Isn't it?!"

Flintclaw didn't answer him, instead addressing the first wolf. "Don't kill him," he asked gently. "He meant no harm."

The first wolf, which was the oldest, and a shaggy gray beast, snarled. "No. He knows too much. He will serve as your tribute to us. Unless, you'd rather give up this little one?"

Flintclaw flinched. "I'm sorry, Coalpaw."

With that, the wolf carrying him growled in excitement and raced into the cave, where there was a sharp scream from Coalpaw and howls and yelps from countless wolves, all anticipating their meal. There was a sickening snap, and Coalpaw's cries dropped instantly.

Sandpaw was shaking horribly. "...Coal...paw?"

Flintclaw sighed. "I didn't want it to be broken to you this way."

Sandpaw just stared at him, unable to speak. Flintclaw frowned, and then continued. "This is what happens to our apprentices. We give one of them to the wolves."

The statement hit him hard. "Wh-what?!"

Flintclaw bowed his head slightly. "I... well, it's a long story."

The wolf dipped his head to the apprentice. "My name is Ridge. I am leader of this pack. What do they call you?"

Sandpaw stared at Ridge in silence for a moment, still shocked by the death of Coalpaw and how relaxed Ridge was. "...Sandpaw," he murmured.

Ridge nodded. "I will return to my pack. Meet on beach tomorrow."

Flintclaw nodded curtly and turned around. "Come on, Sandpaw."

Completely numb with shock, Sandpaw nodded a few times and stumbled after his mentor, choking out some sort of farewell without comprehending what he had really said. The truth had completely surprised and horrified him, and it was all he could do to follow in Flintclaw's pawsteps without fainting and dropping off the cliff like he had imagined earlier.

...

The next day was full of commotion.

"Where's Coalpaw?!" Duskfire roared, both enraged and panicky. "Where is he?!"

"Maybe you should just calm do-" Flintclaw started, until Duskfire whirled about, snarling.

"You!" He pounced, slamming the dark gray tom to the ground. "Tell me where he is!"

"I don't know, Duskfire," Flintclaw lied smoothly. Sandpaw wondered how many times he had like this to someone's parent or mentor. It sickened him. _And now, I've been forced into this lie too._

"Don't lie to me, frog-dung! Coalpaw was right; an apprentice disappearing every time is _too_ suspicious! Tell me the truth!" Duskfire's eyes were wild with rage, and Duststorm made no move to stop the tom.

"I said I don't know," Flintclaw said calmly. "Sorry."

"You know what?" Duskfire snarled. "We're going back. I don't care if we still have another day, we're going back _now_! I'm sick of these lies!"

"I'm leading this patrol, Duskfire-" Flintclaw started.

"Not anymore," the black-and-russet tom growled. "Consider this a mutiny." He looked around at the rest of the patrol. "Any arguments?"

"Just get off my father," Splashpaw hissed. "I don't care whether we go back or not- but get off him."

"Your father," Duskfire said dryly, letting Flintclaw get up. "Is scum." Then he turned, and flicking his tail, signalled for the remainder of the patrol to follow.

Flintclaw fell in line beside Sandpaw, and hissed in a low tone, "You'd better not tell a _word_ of this to anyone, do you understand? Not even your family. No one."

Sandpaw didn't reply. He was too full of guilt for Coalpaw's death.


	8. Chapter 8

**TheJesusFreak777- Yeah, I kinda forgot about him for a minute. I stopped writing the chapter near the middle/end, and I had totally forgotten. I'm so dumb ;-;. **

**Moonbeam-Maybe! We'll see ;D!**

* * *

_What a case of déjà vu,_ Flintclaw thought dryly as he once again sat in the center of camp, facing the yowls and accusations of his clanmates.

"Silence!" Mossystar cried, looking furious. "What is the meaning of this?"

Duskfire let out a yowl. "We demand the truth!"

Duststorm joined in. "Where have our kits gone?"

"What happened to them?" Cherrysnow demanded.

Cloudshadow just stared at her mate in silence, looking broken.

Flintclaw bristled. "My son was killed by a log in the river. Coalpaw went missing."

"Stop lying to us!" Huskthorn snarled. "Tell us what happens to them!"

Then, a timid voice broke through the storm of anger. "I... I know."

_No._ Flintclaw turned to see Sandpaw, looking small with fright, standing up and addressing the clan. "Sandpaw," He growled.

"No!" The pale ginger tom exclaimed. "I won't lie like you! I won't!"

Mossystar let out a hiss. "You're probably just confused, Sandpaw. Sit down."

Wrenfoot, the clan's deputy, looked uncertain. "What is he talking about?"

"Flintclaw took me to meet a wolf!" Sandpaw burst out. "And Coalpaw followed us and they ate him and Flintclaw said that that's where the apprentices go!"

Screeches rang out instantly.

"You idiot!" Flintclaw yowled. "There is so much more to this than you know!"

Mossystar yowled twice for silence, but the enraged RiverClan cats could not be calmed. It was minutes before Wrenfoot, Dawncloud, Sprigleap, and Silverfire could hush down the clan.

Hazelstep glared at Flintclaw. "Youd better tell us everything, now."

As the dark gray looked around the hate-filled faces of his clanmates, he knew he had no choice. "Fine. I will."

Mossystar growled. "You would do well to keep your mouth shut."

_I'm not going to be pushed around by you anymore,_ Flintclaw thought before retorting, "Yeah? Are you going to kill me like you did to Skytail and Aspenpaw?"

Many cats gasped. The tom whirled around, snarling. "And all this time you thought I was the only horrible one around here. Now I'm going to tell the whole story, so you'd better shut up and pay attention."

When he saw that he had the clan's full attention, Flintclaw sat, sighing.

"It started generations ago when the clans first traveled here from the old forest. Leopardstar wanted to know more about the ocean; it intrigued many of RiverClan's warriors. So she sent a patrol there to explore. It was then that Blackclaw, the first guide to the ocean, met a wolf.

The wolf spoke the cats' tongue, and it was a fearsome, battle-scarred beast. It told Blackclaw, "I am the leader of a great pack of my kind. We have watched you little creatures frolic among our lands. We saw you come from upriver. We know of your large packs farther up there. Because you have trespassed, you must pay us back. Each season, you will bring tribute; your young ones. One or two will suffice. You will give them to us, and in return, we will not attack your packs. We have wanted that land, and you took it from us, be glad I do not slaughter you now." Blackclaw agreed." Flintclaw paused, taking a breath. "Ever since then, it has been a secret, kept so that hot-headed fools would not try and stop the tradition, or else all the clans would be hunted like prey."

Everyone was dead silent, clearly shocked.

Then Fogstep cried out, "We can handle some dogs!"

The clan took up his call.

"Yes! We're RiverClan! We're strong!"

"We'll show them!"

"They'll never defeat us!"

"Fools!" Flintclaw roared. "None of you know what a wolf is like-"

"I do," rasped old Twigpelt. "I fought them, once."

Russetstorm nodded. "Twigpelt is right, he has faced wolves before."

Twigpelt shakily addressed the clan. "Wolves… they are vicious. They have no sense of mercy. They are cunning, agile, and have brute strength. We do not stand a chance against them. Unless… how large is the pack?"

Flintclaw shook his head. "Many, much too many. At least the size of a clan, maybe bigger."

The elder sighed. "No, then we do not. There is no chance against them."

Gingerheart flattened her ears. "Maybe there's a way to negotiate with them."

"Hah!" Flintclaw laughed harshly. "A wolf's form of negotiation is you do what they say or die."

"We will continue the tradition," Mossystar hissed. "It is for the good of the clan."

Wrenfoot swung his head around to face his leader, eyes blazing. The black-and-white tom was usually quiet and calm, but fury was written plain on his features. "No! You are not fit to lead us, Mossystar! Do you think _any_ of RiverClan wants to follow you anymore?" His words rang true, every face stared at the mottled she-cat, filled with hatred.

She let out a growl. "I am RiverClan's leader-"

"Not anymore," Hawkstrike snarled. "Get out of our clan."

"Are you trying to exile me, Hawkstrike?" Mossystar laughed. "You can't force me to-"

Wrenfoot stood, and many of the warriors rose as well, standing beside their deputy. "Get out." Wrenfoot snarled. "You are no longer part of RiverClan."

Mossystar's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed, hardening. "You can all rot, then. Lets see how well you fare against the wolves. You will all die." The mottled she-cat took to her paws, racing away from her clan. "You're all going to die!" She yowled one last time.

"What about this traitor?!" Duskfire snarled, flicking his tail at Flintclaw.

"I had no choice," Flintclaw growled. "I was forced to keep it a secret."

"Then prove your loyalty," Wrenfoot said, staring the dark gray tom down. "You can go to the wolves and deliver a message. Our tribute to them is done with. We are severing any ties to their pack."

Flintclaw hissed. "Do you want us all to die?"

"Do it." Wrenfoot growled. "You need to end this, Flintclaw."

"This is no end," Flintclaw said darkly. "This is only the beginning." He whipped around and stormed away, out of camp.

* * *

Wrenfoot let out a yowl. "Settle down!"

It took a few moments, but aside from a few grumbles and mutters, everyone was quiet. The black-and-white tom continued. "I know that this has been… horrifying. Even I am unsure of what we need to do. So for now, I'm going to send you out on patrols. We need the borders remarked and the fresh-kill pile stocked. Cloudshadow, I want you to lead a hunting patrol. Try fishing at the stream. Gingerheart, take another in the opposite direction, more towards ShadowClan's border. Hawkstrike, border patrol to WindClan, and Thrushsong, lead one to ShadowClan's. That is all for now. I will… I will have to travel to the Moonpool tonight to receive my lives, since Mossystar is gone." Despite having never commanding the clan, he did so very calmly, and everyone heeded his words. The chosen cats started to round up others for their patrols, and started to head out.

Wrenfoot sighed heavily. Life was going to get a lot harder.

"Um, Wrenfoot?"

The RiverClan deputy- or now, leader- turned to face Vixenpaw, shuffling her paws. "Since Mossystar has been exiled… Who will mentor me now?"

Wrenfoot gave her a gentle smile. "I'll figure that out soon, Vixenpaw. For now, will you get Jaypaw and Aspenpaw and make sure that Sprigleap and the elders have fresh bedding and prey?"

The russet she-cat nodded quickly, looking almost relieved to have some task to keep herself useful. She bounded off, calling for Jaypaw and her sister.

Wrenfoot closed his eyes for a moment. _I have to be strong, for my clan. Soon Sprigleap will be having kits, and Jaypaw and Honeypaw will become warriors… Wait, warriors! Frogdung, I need to make Splashpaw a warrior! And I have to figure out who to give Vixenpaw to… For StarClan's sake, I don't know how Mossystar ever managed this._ _I think I'll do this all before I go to the Moonpool, to put their minds at rest for a bit. I'll have to wait for the patrols to return…_ The new leader sighed. This was going to be tough.

* * *

"What was the wolf like?"

"Did he eat Coalpaw right in front of you?"

"Did he almost eat you?"

"Did you get to see inside the cave?"

"Did he really talk to you?"

Sandpaw's siblings crowded around him, jabbering like birds. "Um." He said, awkwardly. "The wolf was really tall, and muscular, and he was shaggy and gray. No, Cracklepaw, he didn't eat Coalpaw in front of me. Another wolf dragged him away. Yes, Emberpaw, he picked me up until Flintclaw told him not to. No, Wolfpaw, I didn't see. And yes, Aspenpaw, he did. It was really scary."

"Wow," Vixenpaw breathed. "That's so cool!"

_Are you kidding me?_ "It was horrible!" Sandpaw practically shouted. "I watched a clanmate get dragged away into a cave! I _heard_ them rip him apart! It was _not_ cool, it was utterly terrifying and you should all be glad that it wasn't you there!"

_That shut them up, _ he thought bitterly as they shuffled their paws guiltily. "Sorry, Sandpaw," Emberpaw mumbled. The russet she-cat gave him a sympathetic look. "That must've been frightening."

_No, it the most pleasant experience of my life, or hadn't you heard the first time I told you?_ "Yeah, it was," he spat. "It was terrible. And they'll probably eat Flintclaw too, and me and Vixenpaw will both be without a mentor."

Vixenpaw frowned. "Who do you think will be my mentor, anyway?"

Wolfpaw shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe Huskthorn or Dawncloud. Or, could be Lichenfall. Maybe Fogstep?"

Vixenpaw wrinkled her nose. "I _really_ hope I don't get Dawncloud. Honestly, I'm surprised she didn't elect to be a permanent queen. She's not much good at hunting or fighting."

"Don't be rude!" Aspenpaw gasped, ever the kind-hearted she-cat. "She tries her hardest!"

Cracklepaw snorted. "Your best isn't always enough."

Sandpaw flattened his ears, sighing heavily. His siblings were a pawful. There was Wolfpaw, always oafish and goofing around; Aspenpaw, always trying to look out for everyone and make sure everything was fair; Cracklepaw, the sarcastic, somewhat shrewd sister; Emberpaw, the closest to Sandpaw and most adventurous, and then Vixenpaw, always complaining about something and giving every cat an earful. Their family was diverse in personalities, but even with their quirks and annoyances, they all got along very well, for the most part.

"All cats old enough to swim gather beneath the rockpile to hear my words!"

The six apprentices looked over in unison to see Wrenfoot addressing the clan. "Let's go," Emberpaw mewed.

"He better not give me Dawncloud," Vixenpaw grumbled darkly before rising and padding to the center of camp, her siblings close behind.

Sandpaw took a seat beside Aspenpaw and Huskthorn, and watched Wrenfoot with interest. The black-and-white tom spoke up. "First things first, we have a new warrior for RiverClan."

Splashpaw blinked, then a large smile spread across her face. She had been moping most of the day, certainly from the loss of her brother, Spiderpaw. Most cats were too enraged about Coalpaw to get worked up over Spiderpaw.

"Splashpaw, step forward." Wrenfoot smiled as the tortoiseshell-and-white mollie padded forward. "Splashpaw, do you promise to defend your clan and uphold the warrior code, even at the cost of your life?"

Splashpaw's voice rang out clearly as she replied, "I do."

"Then from now on, you will be known as Splashsnow. StarClan honors your spirit and courage."

Splashsnow's eyes gleamed as the clan's warriors cheered for their new warrior. "Splashsnow! Splashsnow! Splashsnow!"

Wrenfoot continued. "Additionally, Vixenpaw is in need of a new mentor. That is why I ask Huskthorn to mentor her for the remainder of her apprenticeship. Huskthorn, you received excellent training from Fogstep, and I expect that you will pass on everything you know to Vixenpaw."

Huskthorn's eyes widened in surprise. He and his sister, Sprigleap, were still the most inexperienced warriors, but they were both exceptional warriors. Sandpaw noticed that Sprigleap looked a little jealous. _She probably wanted them to become mentors together. But she's a queen now, so that isn't possible._

The sandy brown tom then grinned and stepped forward to touch his nose to Vixenpaw's, who for once looked pretty happy.

"Now, as you know, I will have to travel to the Moonpool tonight to receive my nine lives from StarClan. However, I would like to appoint my deputy before I leave."

_Really? I wonder who he'll pick!_ Everyone seemed to be sharing the same thought, as they all began murmuring curiously.

"I ask that Dawncloud step forward."

_What?_ Sandpaw's eyes widened in surprise. Vixenpa met his gaze from across camp, her jaw dropped open from shock.

A few other warriors, such as Hawkstrike, Duststorm, and Duskfire, muttered disapprovingly, but Fogstep nudged her, eyes shining. Sandpaw recalled that the pair were mates. _But even Fogstep would be a better choice than Dawncloud!_

Wrenfoot spoke again. "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear them and approve of my choice. The new deputy of RiverClan is Dawncloud."

There were a few half-hearted cheers, but it was clear most of the clan was not happy that he had chosen Dawncloud.

Aspenpaw hissed to Sandpaw, "I don't get it. Dawncloud is nice and all, but she's not a good warrior!"

Sandpaw shook his head. "I have no idea."

"The sun is setting, now, so I will be leaving soon." Wrenfoot looked around the clan. "Does anyone have any concerns?"

"Yeah," growled Duskfire. "Why Dawncloud? She'd be better off rearing kits for the rest of her life!"

"Don't you dare speak about my mate like that!" Fogstep shouted, facing the black tom, eyes blazing and pelt bristled.

"Oh, shut up, Fogstep!" Duststorm snarled. "We all know your father was WindClan, and Dawncloud was the only cat who didn't give a rat's tail!"

Fogstep let out a hiss of fury. "Shut your mouth, you fox-heart!"

"I don't take orders from you, kit!"

Dawncloud stepped between them. "No, but you take them from _me_, now. So back off."

Duststorm let out a snort of amusement. "You don't intimidate me, kittypet."

Dawncloud narrowed her eyes, hissing, "I'm no kittypet!"

The sand- colored warrior laughed harshly. "No? We found you as a kit, lost and alone, one of those jingling colors strapped to your throat. You just _begged_ Wetstar to let you join the clan. 'It's so cool here! I want to be a warrior too! My housefolk are _so_ boring!' You're no warrior, and you don't deserve deputyship!"

There were quite a few gasps. Though most didn't support Dawncloud as a cat of power, they all knew that such words were uncalled for.

"How dare you!" Wrenfoot exclaimed, jumping down from the Rockpile to join the face-off. "Dawncloud is your deputy now, and I expect you to treat her as such!"

"And you," Duststorm spat, looking disgusted. "You just couldn't _decide_ whether you wanted Dawncloud or Mossypelt as your mate! And then when Mossypelt became Mossystar, and Dawncloud took Fogstep as a mate, you were just so _devastated_. You're pathetic!"

Everyone fell silent as Wrenfoot flashed forward, slamming his paw hard into the side of Duststorm's face. "You want to be deputy, is that it, Duststorm? You will _never_ be anything more than a warrior."

Duststorm glared at him silently, eyes burning with rage.

"Do you understand?" Wrenfoot growled, staring the sandy-brown tom down.

Duststorm hissed and stalked away. Wrenfoot glared around at the other gathered cats. "ANy other complaints?"

No one spoke up. "Good." Wrenfoot huffed. "Hollybloom, Fernpaw, come on. Let's at least get there on time."

Hollybloom nodded, and Fernpaw scrambled to her paws, looking excited. Sandpaw watched her curiously as they headed out of camp. _I wonder what its like to be able to share with StarClan. Must be cool. But it could get boring, I mean, I can't imagine not hunting and fighting._

Sandpaw sighed wearily. It had been a long day. They had returned from the ocean, he had revealed the truth, their leader was exiled, they had a sad excuse for a deputy, and Flintclaw could quite possibly be eaten or start a war between the wolves and RiverClan. _Things are going to get crazy._


End file.
